By Tucker Carlson might be in some new trouble after traveling to Russia to interview Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Why I'm interviewing Vladimir Putin. pic.twitter.com/hqvXUZqvHX
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) February 6, 2024
His announcement video has racked up over 60 million views. The interview is expected to be posted on Twitter.com on Thursday.
Reuters noted that “Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin had agreed to the Carlson interview because the approach of the former Fox News host differed from the ‘one-sided’ reporting of the Ukraine conflict by many Western news outlets.
‘When it comes to the countries of the collective West, the large network media, TV channels, (and) large newspapers can in no way boast of even trying to at least look impartial in terms of coverage,’ Peskov told a regular news briefing on Wednesday.
‘These are all media outlets that take an exceptionally one-sided position. Of course, there is no desire to communicate with such media, and it hardly makes sense, and it is unlikely that it will be useful.’
Asked directly why Carlson had landed an interview with Putin, Peskov said the American journalist’s approach was ‘in no way pro-Russian, it is not pro-Ukrainian – it is pro-American.'”
The trip, however, has put the popular conservative interviewer in trouble with the European Union.
Newsweek writes:
Tucker Carlson’s interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin could see the conservative pundit targeted by European Union lawmakers, current and former members of the European Parliament have told Newsweek.
Carlson visited Russia this week, and on Tuesday revealed he would “soon” be releasing an interview with the Russian leader.
Carlson’s work in Russia could see the former Fox News host in hot water with the EU, Guy Verhofstadt, a former Belgian Prime Minister and current member of the European Parliament, told Newsweek.
The lawmaker—who has called for the EU to explore imposing a “travel ban” on Carlson—described Carlson as “a mouthpiece” of former President Donald Trump and Putin, adding: “As Putin is a war criminal and the EU sanctions all who assist him in that effort, it seems logical that the External Action Service examine his case as well.”
Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine on February 2022.
Western media is not happy about Carlson’s move, either. Politico wrote, “While it’s true that Carlson will be the first American to interview Putin since the start of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine almost two years ago, journalists from major outlets in the United States and Europe were quick to point out that this is not for lack of trying.
‘Does Tucker really think we journalists haven’t been trying to interview President Putin every day since his full-scale invasion of Ukraine?’ Christiane Amanpour, CNN’s chief international anchor, railed on X. ‘It’s absurd — we’ll continue to ask for an interview, just as we have for years now.’
Similarly, BBC’s Russia Editor Steve Rosenberg posted that the BBC has ‘lodged several requests with the Kremlin in the last 18 months. Always a ‘no’ for us.’
‘Poor, poor Vladimir Putin,’ mocked the Wall Street Journal’s Chief Foreign-Affairs Correspondent Yaroslav Trofimov, also on X. ‘Until now, nobody in the West has had the chance to hear him explain all the excellent reasons for why he had to invade Ukraine.'”
In March 2023, Putin jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich under the guise that he was a spy. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced Gershkovich had been caught “red handed.” The Wall Street Journal denies the accusations. President Joe Biden has called for his immediate release, but his jumper isn’t as good as other Americans imprisoned by Russia.
According to the Preskov, they have received multiple interview requests from Western journalists. However, Moscow perceives these media outlets as biased and promoting a one-sided narrative.
Carlson has been the subject of rumors related to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s demands to censor American media outlets with some believing that the popular Fox News host was fired at the behest of the Ukrainian president after Carlson criticized how much money America had sent to the war torn country.
In January, Tucker Carlson reacted to a video of Zelensky thanking BlackRock, J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs for “rebuilding” Ukraine.
Tucker Carlson has consistently covered the corruption in Ukraine. He has also said that BlackRock is pushing ESG.
Well, in February of this… pic.twitter.com/6DxpF9WJcP
— Liam McCollum (@MLiamMcCollum) April 25, 2023
In May, New Conservative Post reported that “News Corp executive chairman Rupert Murdoch and Fox Corporation CEO Lachlan Murdoch both reportedly spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the months before Fox News host and outspoken Zelensky critic Tucker Carlson was fired from their news network.
Semafor reported…that the senior Murdoch held an ‘unreported’ call with Zelensky in spring of this year. During their call, the two men reportedly discussed Ukraine’s ongoing conflict with Russia and the death of Fox News journalists Pierre Zakrzewski and Oleksandra Kuvshynova in Ukraine in March 2022. Semafor also reported that Murdoch’s son Lachlan held a separate call with Zelensky on March 15, where the two discussed similar topics.
While both meetings were held just weeks before Carlson’s sudden and unexpected departure from Fox News on April 24, Zelensky reportedly did not speak to either Murdoch about the Fox News host, according to Mediate.”
Congress is currently debating whether or not to send another $60 billion in aid to Ukraine. So far the United States has sent just under $77 billion to the country to cover munitions and the pension plans of the that country’s government bureaucracy, almost as much as the federal government spends at the Department of Education.
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